AUGUSTA, Ga. - There is new hope for women who struggle with mental illness and addiction in our area thanks to a brand new facility that is providing shelter and a whole lot more for these women and their children.

It has been three years in the making and finally the Hope House on Highland Avenue is ready for people to move in.

“I had come to a point where I had no where else to go. I had hit my bottom,” Jacquelyn Freeman said.

Confused and hurting, Freeman turned to the only thing she thought could take her pain away, drugs.

“I didn't know what my problem was. I was using drugs to mask and cover up things that were bothering me,” she said.

At an all-time low and looking for any signs of hope, Freeman turned to a house that specializes in it.

“We built her back up,” Karen Saltzman said.

Saltzman is the director of the Hope House. It gives therapy, housing and job training to women with addictions and mental illness.

“It's not just a roof; it is a place for recovery. It gets you ready to step back out into the world,” Freeman said.

While the hope has remained strong, the house needed a bit of a makeover. So, last February ground was broken for a new one.

“I love the new hope house,” Freeman said.

The old house could only hold about 18 families, but the new facility has space for 42 families. It includes a mix of efficiencies, two and three bedroom apartments. More space, more help, more hope.

“They come to us at one of their worst points in their lives and when they leave they're at one of their best points in their lives,” Saltzman said.

“I know one thing I will be going out here helping ladies just like me. I can't keep what I've got. I've got to give it away,” Freeman said.

The residents of the house will move in on December 1st. Most women stay for about a year but continue to get support from the house for as long as they need it. The Hope House serves 13 counties giving women in need everything from interviewing skills to moral support.